Would you trade companies with another CEO?Inspired by the TV show "Wife Swap," two engineering CEOs recently agreed to take over the other's company for a week. The experience didn't go particularly smoothly -- one CEO fired a key worker and the other refuses to discuss the experience. Still, the stunt apparently helped both executives to spot weaknesses in their companies and to hone their management styles. Inc. magazine
(2/2013)

4 ways to be a more intense bossIntensity is a powerful tool for any leader, although it's important to ensure that your focus and commitment don't come across as anger or obsession, writes Art Petty. Authenticity is a vital part of that process, Petty adds. "Your commitment to the mission at hand must come through in your every word, action and during every encounter," he writes. ArtPetty.com
(2/4)

Why Platform Matters When Choosing an ERP SystemIn order to survive, grow, and compete in the digital age, organizations need an ERP that is highly flexible and able to adapt. So, what are the tough platform questions you should ask yourself when shopping for an ERP? Download the report to find out!

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Strategic Management

The purpose-driven companyThere are five questions that corporate leaders should ask to determine their company's true goals and the best strategies to achieving them, experts say. "In the end, as a human being or an institution, you have to understand why you were put on this earth, and what actions you're going to take to deliver on that purpose," says design consultant Keith Yamashita. FastCoDesign
(2/4)

The rise and fall of dollar storesDollar stores made big bucks during the downturn, but the big chains' rapid expansion has made it more difficult to make ends meet. More than 1,300 dollar stores are expected to open this year, but cash-strapped consumers aren't spending the way they once did. "It's as if there are more days than there are dollars," says Dollar General CEO Rick Dreiling. The Wall Street Journal
(2/4)

Get with the flow. How payment processing affects cash flow.Cash flow is the lubricant of business. Without a healthy cash flow, business dries up. It stops. It can't function. Which is why it is vital to keep the revenues coming in as the expenses go out. But there's one aspect of cash flow that many of us are not aware of. It is how managing credit cards and other such non-cash payments affect cash flow. Turns out it has a huge affect. Download the free guide today.

Is Wikipedia a bigger deal than the wheel?Braden Kelley has come up with the top 10 inventions of all time; there's space for Wikipedia and YouTube, but not for the wheel. That's because knowledge sharing is the key to innovating in other areas, Kelley explains. "[F]or companies or nations that want to outpace their competition, they should be laser-focused on accelerating the pace of knowledge sharing," he writes. InnovationExcellence.com
(2/5)

SmartPulse

How many people are you a mentor for?

2-4

41.97%

5 or more

28.39%

0

15.51%

1

14.13%

That's a lot of mentoring: Many of you have numerous mentoring relationships (more than five, in many cases). The question I'll pose is whether that's too many. While it's great for the ego to say we mentor many people, is that the best solution for the mentees? Sure, it's great to help other people grow and develop, but are you giving them the focus they need to move their careers forward? Can you truly give them what they need as well as take care of members of your team? If you're spreading yourself a little thin, there's nothing wrong with ending a mentoring relationship so you can give fewer people a more focused effort. -- Mike Figliuolo is managing director of ThoughtLeaders and author of "One Piece of Paper: The Simple Approach to Powerful, Personal Leadership."

Chobani chief is willing to take a punch to stay on taskTurkish entrepreneur Hamdi Ulukaya, the founder and CEO of Chobani, has turned Greek yogurt into a multibillion-dollar business and made himself a fortune in the process. He's done so by focusing relentlessly on quality control, he says, even going so far as to tell his staffers to punch him in the face if they felt his performance slipped. "I was serious," he says. Bloomberg Businessweek
(1/31)

Engage. Innovate. Discuss.

What do senior-level women want?Women aren't less ambitious than men, but they often define success differently, argues Henna Inam. This has implications for organizations looking to develop and retain women in senior-level positions. "It's not just about the next position in the hierarchy. It's about contribution to something they personally care about," she writes. SmartBrief/SmartBlog on Leadership
(2/4)

Daily Diversion

Don't set your watch by the clocks at Grand Central StationAll the clocks at New York's Grand Central Station are set to the wrong time. Officials decided to set the clocks a minute fast, creating the illusion that trains were leaving slightly late, as a way of encouraging commuters to take their time and not run for the trains. The tactic seems to be working -- the station has "the fewest slips, trips, and falls of any station in the country," Megan Garber writes. The Atlantic online
(2/1)